Katherine Mayfair
'''Katherine Mayfair' (previously Davis) is an old friend of Susan's, who returned to Wisteria Lane after a twelve year absence. Katherine rivals Bree as "Queen Of All Things Domestic" and prides herself on being an excellent wife and mother. Biography 'Early Life' Little is known about Katherine's early life. Katherine married Wayne Davis, a cop, and with him had a daughter, Dylan. During their marriage, Wayne became increasingly abusive towards Katherine and beat her on several occasions. The two divorced and Katherine relocated to Wisteria Lane, where she stayed with her aunt, Lillian Simms. Katherine befriends Susan Mayer and Mary Alice Young, her new neighbors on the street. One night, whilst Katherine and Lillian were out and Dylan was being babysat by Mary Alice, she discovered that Wayne had visited his daughter and given her a doll as a gift. Furious, Katherine places the doll on top of a wooden bookshelf in her sleeping daughter's bedroom. Wayne returns and Katherine confronts him. As Wayne begins to become aggressive, Katherine violently strikes him across the head with a candlestick and he retreats. Later, Katherine awoke to Lillian's screams from Dylan's room. Upon reaching the room, it is revealed that Dylan, while trying to retrieve the doll, was crushed and killed by the off-balanced bookshelf. In shock, Katherine and Aunt Lillian realize that Wayne could have them arrested for murder, so they bury Dylan's body in the woods behind the house. Katherine leaves Wisteria Lane the next morning. She visits a Romanian orphanage and finds a young girl who bears a striking resemblance to her now-deceased daughter. Katherine adopts the girl and changes her name to Dylan in an attempt to cover up the accidental death of her daughter. ("Free") Katherine and the new-Dylan relocate to Chicago. There, Katherine meets a successful doctor named Adam Mayfair and a relationship blossoms. The two get married. Katherine tells Adam that Wayne killed her biological daughter and he agrees to keep her secret and protect them from her ex-husband. The Mayfairs become wealthy, with Katherine becoming a socialite, hosting and planning many medical benefits and functions. However, the family's reputation becomes tarnished after Adam's alleged sexual harassment with one of his patients. Subsequently, the family flees Chicago, with plans to move back to Fairview, to escape the humiliation and to care for a terminally-ill Lillian. 'Season 4' Katherine first arrives in season four's premiere "Now You Know," as a former resident of Wisteria Lane, who had left abruptly and without further explanation for over twelve years. As the housewives watch her and her family move into the street, Susan recognizes her and runs to hug her. At Katherine's home, she introduces her family. Katherine is now married to Adam Mayfair who is a gynecologist and she tells the girls that they moved back to be with her aunt Lillian who is ill. Katherine immediately gets upon Bree Van de Kamp's nerves by asking her to cut down the tree in her yard and has the nerve to call the rest of the wives "newcomers" to the neighbourhood she lived in before them. Bree begins to grow a dislike towards her. It's revealed that Katherine's daughter, Dylan and Julie Mayer were best friends when they were little but Dylan doesn't seem to remember Julie or anyone on the street. Julie tells her mother that Dylan is not the same girl that she used to know. It's revealed that something awful happened 12 years ago that caused Katherine to move, but she doesn't want Dylan to know what it is. Dylan questions Katherine about her father but she doesn't want to talk about him. When Dylan calls Katherine a monster, Katherine slaps her hard across the face. Katherine, Dylan and Adam do not notice however that Bree was listening to the entire conversation. Katherine later catches Julie and her daughter in a locked room in her house and not only sends Julie home, but forbids Dylan to hang out with her ever again. Katherine informs Adam her aunt Lillian is ready to come home and she says she is letting her sleep in the room which she forbade Dylan to sleep in. When alone, Katherine lifts up a rug and looks at a large gash in the floor and breaks down in tears. It's revealed Lillian knows Katherine's mysterious secret. Lillian is brought home so she can die there. Lillian tells Katherine that they should tell Dylan the truth about what they covered up so many years ago; however, Katherine refuses. Lillian then attempts to tell Dylan the truth, but Katherine returns home just in time to stop Lillian. In her last living moments, Lillian writes down what they had covered up in hope that Dylan would find it. She dropped it on the floor and then died. Katherine watches as her body is taken away and she leaves the room, but the piece of paper remains hidden under the bed. Dylan is still eager to find out about her father but Katherine tells her he was a horrible man that used to beat her up. In the episode "Something's Coming" Katherine and her husband, Adam, stay with Bree her house during a tornado. It's revealed that Adam had an affair with Sylvia Greene who was a former patient of his and that's why he and Katherine had to leave Chicago. Bree comforts Katherine and at the end of the episode it appears that Bree and Katherine have finally become friends. Angry at Adam, Katherine throws him out of the house. Adam then discovers Lily's note and confronts Katherine, leaving her. In her anger, she burns the note, only for Dylan to find information in the remains. Dylan soon meets her father, Wayne Davis, who is a police officer He stopped her the day before for speeding, but it turned out he just wanted to get a good look at her. Dylan then lies to Katherine and meets Wayne several times. Dylan eventually comes clean, and Katherine agrees to see Wayne. Wayne seems pleased to see Katherine, but Katherine tells him that she does not believe he has changed at all. Dylan confronts Katherine when she decides to move, now that Wayne knows where they live. When Wayne picks Dylan up to take her to her recital, Wayne suggests they go as a family. But Katherine tells him that Dylan is not his daughter. Wayne himself discovers through a DNA test and by Dylan's lack of scars from where she fell off her bike years ago that Dylan is not his daughter. In the 4th season finale, Bree comes knocking on the door looking for Katherine, who bailed out on their catering job for Bob and Lee's wedding. Bree is then taken hostage by Wayne. It is when Wayne threatens Bree's life that Katherine tells him the truth. Wayne, in a fit of rage, raises his gun and says he wants to kill Katherine for burying their daughter like a dog. Adam shows up and fights with Wayne. As Bree goes to help clean Adam up, Katherine is left holding a gun to Wayne. As Wayne lays there he continues to make threats, Katherine shoots him in the chest, instantly killing him. Moments later the police arrive, and Katherine is in cuffs and it appears she is going to jail. However, when the police question the housewives, they all give alibis in Katherine's favor, saying how horrible and dangerous Wayne was. Katherine is then released as it was self-defense. Five years after the events concluding Season 4, Katherine is no longer with Adam. The other housewives have fully accepted Katherine as "one of them", particularly Bree who sees Katherine as the sister she never had. 'Time Jump' In "Mirror, Mirror", flashbacks reveal that during the five-year time jump, Bree began drinking again and Katherine helped her recover, allowing the two women to bond further. Katherine is now a business partner of Bree's and there is some jealousy there because Bree is the star of their business, having published a cookbook, using some of Katherine's recipes. Katherine is doing a great deal of the work without credit though and feels betrayed. Bree decides to dedicate the book to Katherine but she doesn't think that's enough. Katherine get's back at Bree by embarrassing her in a TV interview. After Bree hires Orson, Katherine doesn't feel like she's needed anymore and tells Bree she wants to quit and be with Dylan, who had now moved to Baltimore. Bree talks her out of it and sets her up with Orson's friend 'Season 5 Later in the season, Katherine starts a relationship with Mike Delfino. At first, they wanted to keep the affair secret but Bree discovers a surveillance video of the two of them having sex in the test kitchen. Eventually Susan finds out and is very unhappy that her friend is dating her ex-husband. Susan does not want Mike to leave their son M.J. in her care, as M.J. appears to start preferring Katherine to Susan. Katherine tells Susan she has no choice in the matter, as Mike is planning to move in with her soon. After an argument following Katherine and Mike's housewarming however, it appears that Susan and Katherine have agreed to put their differences aside and be friends again. Dave Williams plans to enact revenge on Mike so he takes him and Katherine camping. During the trip, Dave was about to shoot Katherine; however, Edie finally discovered that Dave marrying her and moving to Wisteria Lane was all a plan to get to Mike. Edie texted Dave at the exact moment that he was firing the gun, which caused him to miss. Mike is still in love with Susan and is upset when he hears that she's getting married to Jackson. Katherine is however thrilled because she figures Susan won't be a threat anymore. Katherine tricks M.J. into asking Mike, in front of her, if he's willing to marry her. He eventually proposes and she accepts. Katherine discovers Jackson is only marrying Susan for a green card but doesn't tell Mike. Katherine deceives Susan by allowing her to think Mike wants to pay alimony even though she's marrying another man. When Susan wants to confront Mike, Katherine admits to not telling Mike that Susan's engagement to Jackson was not real because she was afraid that he would leave her for Susan. Katherine and Mike are at the airport headed for Las Vegas to get married when Mike discovers that Susan and M.J. are in danger. After Dave's plan to kill M.J. in a crash fails, Mike and Susan kiss. In the last scene of the finale, Mike is seen marrying someone whose face is not shown. The camera pans the audience in attendance and neither Katherine nor Susan is shown. Season 6 ' It is revealed that Mike's bride is Susan who is preparing to walk down the aisle, revealing that Mike chose to marry her rather than marry Katherine. Through flashbacks, it's revealed that Mike broke up with Katherine and proposed to Susan. When Susan is out, her wedding dress is delivered to Katherine's house. Katherine wears it while cooking to annoy Susan and demands Susan publicly apologize to her for taking Mike away. Susan initially refuses and locks her in a closet, Katherine then breaks free, crashes the wedding, but Mike demands she leave. Susan, finally feeling guilty then apologizes, but Katherine remains bitter. Katherine declares war against Susan and begins to plot a way to get back at her. When Susan is with Julie at the hospital, Katherine visits Mike, gives him a kiss and tells him she'll be there for him. Katherine then tells Orson that Mike made a pass at her, hoping this will get back to Susan. Katherine informs Bree that Mike's going to dump Susan soon and reunite with her. Later, Bree and Katherine cause a scene at a wedding they're catering, as Katherine becomes emotional over a cake. Bree is troubled by Katherine's behavior and when Katherine shows up the next day, Bree fires her. Katherine uses her key to scratch up Bree's car. Susan is angry when Bree tells her about Katherine hitting on Mike. Things come to a head at a neighborhood watch meeting after Susan ignores Katherine when she tries to volunteer, escalating into Susan publicly threatening Katherine if she doesn't leave her and Mike alone. That night, Julie hears someone outside and responds, gun in hand. Susan takes the gun and fires out the window, hitting Katherine in the shoulder. Angie Bolen talks Katherine out of calling the police by telling her that Mike's still crazy about her and that by staying quiet, she'll look like a "saint" while Susan looks like a "monster." One night, Katherine calls Mike and asks him to fix a leak at her house. Susan is suspicious and goes with him. She sneaks into Katherine's bedroom and sees roses and candles everywhere and realizes Katherine was planning on seducing Mike. They fight and end up falling into Katherine's bubble bath. Eventually, Katherine tells the police about the shooting and Susan is arrested. At the hearing, Katherine tells the judge that Susan's been trashing her to her friends and Susan is sentenced to community service. When Katherine tests Susan by littering at the community service, Susan reports the incident and Katherine is also sentenced to community service. When M.J. passes by, Katherine tells him how Susan stole Mike away and is a bad mother. Mike is angered by this. When Katherine picks M.J. up from a birthday party and takes him home, Mike confronts her again and coldly tells Katherine that he never loved her at all. A devastated Katherine offers him the knife, telling him stabbing her would be less painful but he says that he doesn't care enough about her to kill her. He leaves and Katherine makes a 911 call, saying she's losing blood and after hanging up, stabs herself. She tells the police Mike stabbed her and he is arrested. Knowing this is a lie Susan tries to reason with Katherine and upon seeing how delusional she is, realizes that she needs serious mental help. Susan calls Dylan and tells her that she should come to Fairview and see her mother. Upon her daughter's return it is revealed that Katherine had been telling her that she and Mike were married and that Susan was the one who stabbed her. Dylan goes to see her mother at the hospital and catches Katherine in her lies. Susan and Dylan then watch as Katherine has a breakdown in the hospital hallway and is restrained. Katherine spends a month in a mental hospital. Katherine then returns to Wisteria Lane, where a party is held for her at Gaby's home. She is hesitant as she feels everyone is judging her based on her past actions. She then meets Robin Gallagher, an ex-stripper living with Susan. Katherine allows Robin to come stay with her after Robin and Susan have a falling out. The two women bond over their troubled pasts and go out for a night of drinking. When all the men begin to hit only on Robin, she stands up for Katherine and explains how beautiful she is and kisses her. Later when they return home, Robin reveals that she is a lesbian. As time goes on Katherine begins to find herself attracted to Robin. Her therapist feels that she is too fragile to embark upon a relationship, and tells Katherine that Robin should not live with her. While she is telling her to move out, however, Katherine ends up telling Robin that she has feelings for her. Robin tells her that she has feelings for Katherine also, and they sleep together. Robin is angry when she sees Katherine flirt with a man at Karen McCluskey's party. Katherine tells Robin that she's confused and doesn't know what she wants. They finally come to an agreement and decide to pack up and leave for Paris together. 'Season 8' Katherine returns from Paris in the final episode of the series. Over coffee, she explains to Susan, Lynette, Bree and Gaby that after three months of living in France, she and Robin broke up after she eventually realized she wasn't attracted to women. Katherine reveals that she is no longer "in the game", indicating that she is not dating, and is now channeling her sexual frustration into a business - a line of frozen french pastries - which has made her incredibly wealthy. She reveals her reason for visiting...she has a business proposition for Lynette. Katherine is looking for her business to expand worldwide and she wants Lynette to helm the U.S division in New York. She is disgruntled when Lynette turns down the offer because she's back with Tom and attempts to persuade her decsion by letting Lynette know that in the entire time she has known her, Lynette has never been content with a life of "sewing buttons." Katherine reveals that she is in town for 3 days if Lynette decides to change her mind. After some self-examination, Lynette does just that - the Scavos move to New York, where Lynette becomes CEO of the U.S division of Katherine's company. ("Finishing the Hat") Personality When Katherine was introduced to the series, many critics noted that she was very similar to the Bree Hodge character, in that both prided themselves on their domestic skills. Marc Cherry noted that Katherine "was clearly different" before her arrival in the fourth season, which the Susan character confirms when she claims Katherine is "not as fun as she used to be." Her cold exterior is noted by many characters, including Gabrielle Solis, who remarks that Katherine is "smug and 'holier than thou'" and is "getting a reputation around neighborhood for having a stick up her ass!" Though Katherine immediately has conflicts with the other women on the street, most notably Bree, she eventually develops close friendships with her neighbors. Nevertheless, her rivalry with Bree continues, but as a natural part of their sisterly relationship. In the sixth season, however, Katherine "morphs into the person the housewives have to hate" in the absence of the Edie Britt character. Quotations Behind Closed Doors Casting Delany auditioned for the series' pilot episode in 2004 for the role of Bree Van de Kamp. Creator Marc Cherry thought she delivered "a fantastic audition." Delany was offered the role but rejected it three times. Delany has since insisted that she was not ready to do another television series at the time and that the character of Bree was too similar to her character on Pasadena. The role eventually went to Marcia Cross, Cherry's second choice. Delany reportedly regretted not accepting the part. Development When Cherry was developing Katherine, a character with "a lot of Alpha female qualities and some slyness and darkness," he offered Delany the role. She accepted the role and remained on the series until the end of the sixth season. Following her multi-episode guest role on another ABC series, Castle, network executives offered Delany the lead in a new pilot for the 2010-2011 television season. Delany filmed the pilot for ''Body of Proof in April 2010; her absence in Desperate Housewives was explained by having Katherine and her girlfriend, Robin Gallagher, leave town indefinitely. In May, ABC picked up Body of Proof for thirteen episodes; thus, Delany did not return for the seventh season of Desperate Housewives as a series regular. Delany admits that her exit from the series was quick, but insists that she may return to the series at some point, regardless of whether or not her new series is successful. Gallery Promo 519 05.png Promo 519 06.png Trivia *Katherine and Bree, often depicted as rivals, share many similarities beyond just excellent cooking: **Both have been married twice. **Both have married doctors. **The first husbands are now dead, with the second husbands having left them. **Both have red hair (although in Bree's case it's unnatural). **Both have had romantic relationships with one of Susan's (at the time) ex-husbands. **Both have been patients at psychiatric hospitals. **Both have daughters who eventually had a baby of their own. *Marc Cherry said that he was originally going to make Katherine and Mike marry, however, fans said that it had better have been Susan that he married. *Susan and Mary Alice knew Katherine previously when she lived in Wisteria Lane at least 12 years before season 4. However Bree was also living on the street at the time (as she lived on Wisteria Lane from 1994), but it seems like Katherine and Bree knew each other from season 4. *The character received media attention when she was involved in the series' first lesbian relationship. de:Katherine Mayfair fr:Katherine Simms Category:Main characters Category:Housewives Category:Season 4 characters Category:Season 5 characters Category:Season 6 characters Category:Season 8 characters Category:Flashback Characters Category:Wisteria Lane residents Category:Time-Jump characters Category:Mother of a supporting character Category:Adulterers Category:Murderers Category:Incarcerated characters Category:Katherine's family Category:LGBT characters